About Layout of Akbar’s Tomb:
The massive mausoleum complex has a square plan. Centrally located in a vast garden, it is surrounded by high battlement walls. There are octagonal towers at the corners and a lofty iwan (portal), in the middle of each side of the outer enclosure wall. While the southern portal serves as the main entrance, the other three are merely ornamental in nature. Thus, the southern portal is most imposing and elegant of all the four portals. It boasts of bold inlaid ornamentation and four marble minarets over the roof of the gateway. These minarets are believed to be the precursors of the minarets of Taj. A broad paved causeway leads one from this daunting gateway to the main building of the mausoleum. The main tomb rests on a white marble platform and has five storeys sloping inwards towards the top.
General Information about Akbar’s Tomb:
Location: Agra
State: Uttar Pradesh
Capital: Lucknow
Language: Hindi, English
Temperature: Max 42˚C, Min 27˚C (summer), Max 26˚C, Min 14˚C (winter)
Best Season: October to February
How to Reach Akbar’s Tomb:
By Air:
Agra airport is 7 km from the city centre and 3 km from Idgah bus stand and is connected by domestic flights from major Indian cities. There are daily round trip flights from Delhi to Agra, Khajuraho, and Varanasi, with a return to Delhi. It takes only about 40 minutes from Delhi to Agra.
By Road:
Agra is about 204 km from Delhi, the capital of India. There is an excellent national highway connecting Delhi and Agra and it is only a 4 hours drive from Delhi. There are many luxury taxis and buses that drive to Agra everyday. Idgah and Agra Fort are the main bus stands of Agra from where anybody can catch buses to and from or Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura and Fatehpur-Sikri.
By Rail:
Agra is well connected by rail to Delhi, Varanasi and cities of Rajasthan. The main railway station is the Agra Cantonment station. There are many trains connecting Delhi and Agra like Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Taj Express and luxury trains like the Palace on Wheels.